The Football Forecast

Three Players That Would Set The MLS Alight

With the transfer window recently coming to a close, Harvey Thorley looks at potential players that would set the MLS alight:

Iker Casillas

The 5 time IFFHS World’s Best Goalkeeper recently parted from his boyhood club Real Madrid this summer, and made the trip across the Spanish/Portuguese border to play for Portuguese giants FC Porto.

At 34 he still has many years to continue playing, even at the top level. So could the progressive growing of potential, money and fanbase amongst the MLS attract the attention of the lights of Iker Casillas?

Come two years time, Casillas could be coming towards the end of his contracted time at Porto, and certainly not the end of his career. There’s no doubt the MLS will have increased the amount of stars making the switch to The States, raising the standards of football. Could this be a key factor in the influence of an MLS move for the Spanish Captain?

Mario Balotelli

Mario Balotelli has certainly not had the best of seasons since joining Liverpool last season. With Daniel Sturridge coming back from injury and Christian Benteke making an impressive start to his Liverpool career, Balotelli’s Liverpool future is not looking too promising.

His recent loan move back to his boyhood club AC Milan strongly indicates Liverpool do not have any plans to fit Balotelli in the team. So where could Balotelli end up on his next permanent move?

Numerous Italian clubs have been linked with talks to bing Balotelli back to home soil, but with the exception of his beloved AC Milan, where would be an ideal move for Mario Balotelli?

Earlier this year, Orlando City expressed interest in landing the Italian International’s signature. Would this switch suit Balotelli?

As we all know, Balotelli openly lives life to the maximum. His party lifestyle has proven he is a character, which has a variety of opinions expressed by football fans and clubs. So how would the MLS suit Balotelli? Or more interestingly, how would Balotelli suit the MLS?

Balotelli is only 25, so he has many years in his career to show he is one of the best in the world, as well as a few years left getting away with his youthful stunts. Living in the USA would certainly suit Balotelli’s lifestyle, and perhaps dropping his standards in football will give him the confidence to get back to the Mario Balotelli we all loved to see on the pitch.

So an MLS switch would suit Balotelli, but would Balotelli suit the MLS? He’s a relatively young, and certainly globally recognised talent who has undoubtably got world class ability. He would easily improve any side in the MLS, providing he lives up to his potential/expectation. For me, this would be a fantastic deal.

Ronaldinho

With big name moves like David Beckham and Thierry Henry previously proving successful and popular in the MLS, and more recently with Frank Lampard, Kaka, Andre Pirlo and Steven Gerrard, Ronaldinho would certainly be a massive hit with a move to any league in the world, let alone the MLS.

So why would Ronaldinho consider a move to the MLS at this stage in his career? Making the trip North of the Mexican border would not seem like an unappealing move for the Fluminense Midfielder, with a slower paced style of football, you can understand why the 35 year old would take an interest in slowing things down towards the back end of his career. Not to mention bigger sponsorship and advertising opportunities, something Ronaldinho has proven to not be shy of.

I’m sure Ronaldinho could settle in any team, and would certainly set any team alight. So would an MLS switch suit the Brazilian superstar?